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Elings Park management plans to expand its BMX track-currently near the park’s Las Positas entrance-and relocate it to the park’s Cliff Drive side to make room for more soccer fields has raised the ire of some area residents. They maintain that development of the proposed 55,000-square-foot area in the southern section of the park goes against an agreement made when the Santa Barbara County Coastal Resource Enhancement Fund (CREF) put up $500,000 to purchase the land in 1998. In exchange for the money, the park agreed to a deed restriction limiting certain areas of the park-including the south end-to “passive” uses such as walking, horseback riding, or bird watching. “It can’t be developed for active uses without the written permission of the County Board of Supervisors,” said Doug Anthony, CREF’s deputy director, adding that although the park has been annexed into the jurisdiction of the City of Santa Barbara, due to the deed restriction, any permit the city might grant would end up being governed by the county supervisors’ final word.

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Give me a break. Everyone wants problems with youth solved...unless they have to be part of the solution somehow. If we want our kids to stay out of trouble we need to provide them places to do the kinds of things they enjoy. Riding BMX bikes gives them exercise outdoors with friends in a safe place. And it's fun. Last time I checked my son wasn't interested in bird watching.

Don't forget to read the comments at the end. I'm supporting 2 things, youth BMX where the current track is located now (with modern updates added) AND preservation of open space/coastal wildlife habitats at South Park. We can have both.

Nice attempt by the SB Indy to inflamme the issue! "Elings Park management plans to expand its BMX track" is ANYTHING BIUT THE TRUTH!There's no "expansion" being made, just a relocation of the current facility.I agree, the current location works fine, but the park has it's plans, that's THE reality.But to say it is an "expansion" smacks of yellow journalism to say the least.The fact that the new facility is only using 1% of 130 acres is simple proof of this.But then again, the opposition is sticking to untruths, distortions of the truth, misinformation, manipulation of the data, outright lies & disinformation. My favorite is how the "55,000 sq.ft." figure keeps getting thrown out there.Sure, 55k is a huge figure, but in terms of 130 acres which is 5,662,800 sq.ft 55k sq.ft. amounts to 0.97% land usage!Besides, the current BMX track uses ~50,000 sq.ft. which is something that is simply omitted from any of the facts because it is barely noticeable!Then there's the word "development" that gets thrown out there. THERE'S NO DEVELOPMENT!All a BMX track is is a ribbon of dirt w/ mounds called jumps by laypersons, obstacles by racers.If there's a need for a structure, I gurantee that it would be as minimal in construction as possible because all you need it for is signups.All I can ask the opposition is this: Why all the lies & hate? The answer to that is NIMBY & truth be told, some of those "concerned neighbors" have homes that are actually ON park property.This is going to be interesting to watch & believe me, I'll be watching & pointing out the distortions of the facts from the opposition as well as informing those that don't know what BMX really is about & what it requires :) henry

Mike, the things mentioned on the NOA aren't set in stone & can be classified mostly as "extreme case scenario" which means that the design is negotiable to the contour & nature requiements of the terrain.During the ARB meeting we expressed this flexibility & willingness to work w/ the park & neighbors.Some of that parking IS already there, all the disc golf would require is the tees (made of wood, could be logs) & pins (the metal baskets that can be incorporated into the terrain), the night lighting issue has been beat to death, the pedestrian access is already a reality & the rest is fluff.I 1,000% respect your position,a s you've been WAY positive & honest w/ your input on this, as well as insightful. I sincerely thank you for your willingness to positively contribute on this matter.You mention open space though & I have to ask what is more imposing to open space: The relocation of the current BMX track or the housing development that is about to happen on the property across the way from the park?There are bigger evils looming in the Elings Park area, they just need to be seen as what they are. Making a ribbon of dirt w/ some mounds is THE least invasive thing.Again, I invite anyone w/ questions or that wants to see how the current BMX track is run to stop by on Mon, Wed practice nights or Fri race nite (closed this Fri for Halloween) & see what it entails. Bring your bike too & get in on the fun! :) henry

Travis, I fully agree w/ you, leave it where it is, but unfortunately the Elings Park plan is the force behind the move.But the issue of "open space" is becoming interesting. The BMX track is in effect "open space" as there's no permanent or real structure, it incorporates the land & blends in.The facility is not covered or sealed. I think the "open space" issue is getting used as a pawn to make it seem as an attack on "green" or something like that, jusdt my opinion here :) henry

I hope we can get a satisfactory solution that balances the goals of the Elings Park management and the desires of the community. There shouldn't be any reason why the two can't be accommodated. I sense a fantastic opportunity for a win-win here. One thing that probably needs to be done is to get the facts out so everyone is on the same page. It seems there's a lot of conflicting info being thrown about.

As an aside, I could really get behind a disc golf course (first time I'd heard of it). Such a course could coexist with other park functions, has little infrastructure to add (as noted by hank), and can provide healthy and low-cost fun for lots of kids & adults. Anyone who wants to see an example can visit Evergreen Park in Goleta.

In case everyone is blind, the south portion of elings park is directly across from.....more open space at the wilcox/douglas family preserve. When are the environmentalists going to realize that people don't like birdwatching?

Please tell me what you would be doing in Santa Barbara if you were 7-17 years old. Your average kid would play video games, join a gang, ride bikes(bmx included), skateboard, and surf. I know the more surf/skate/bike we get the better, otherwise all our kids will be fat, or in a gang.

EastBeach, Thanks for to input on that & sharing the observation. Evergreen Park is fun to go hang out @ & is 1 of my personal favorites!DBD, I hear you. A little personal history here about how I got into BMX. As a hyperactive kid my mom was @ wits end w/ my behavior & antics. Once I got on a BMX bike (a Schwinn Stingray back in 1973 w/ some modifications) & started doing that i was more focused, less prone to get in trouble & actually started to brush up on my math to calculate gear ratios & other factors.When I started skateboarding in contests in 1975 (while staying racing BMX) it was obvious to her that "team sports" were not in my system. Eventually I started bringing in a little $$$ from skateboarding which helped pay bills. The 1 thing I noticed is that friends who dropped out of these sports developed drug problems, contributed to the teenage pregnancy problem, dropped out of school, got in trouble w/ the law, a whole slew of social issues.Did these sports save me? Yes, but so did the encouragement from my mom, a single parent, to do them.Will these sports save every kid? Hard to say, but I'd rather have kids doing these sports than joining a gang or becoming a meth dealer or making babies they can't take care of.Not every kid is wired for team sports such as baseball, football, basketball, soccer or volleyball. Ironically, I got a soccer scolarship, but to me the only reason I played soccer was for strictly utilitarian (get a scolarship) reasons. I had no real love for the sport. Now BMX, skateboarding, surfing, motocross & go kart racing, that was WAY different! There was no reliance on a team, you relied on yourself & results were personal. Those sports taught me balance, skill & endurance, but there were also other things learned: Respect for your fellow competitor, being humble in victory & gracious in defeat, sportsmanship, self-reliance, confidence & a clean life.This are just MY personal reasons why I think BMX is a more-than-welcome addition to our community, but I think if any doubters talk to anyone who actually participates in BMX, you'll hear many similar experiences :) henry

Funny you guys bring up the birdwatching thing. There's nothing cooler to me than being @ the track when all of the sudden a HUGE redtailed hawk will come out of nowhere & grab a morsel or just land on 1 of the existing light posts. Sometimes you see a pair hovering above the track area. We get kestrels too!The absolute coolest is the owl that's as huge as an overweight housecat. This guy comes to the track @ excatly 8 pm when the lights go off, sits on a light post or the eucalyptus tree by the concession stand & does some serious hunting!I've had run ins w/ coyotes & skunks there as well as catching 2 giant gopher snakes (that I immediately released). There's nature there & we seriously respect it.There's no doubt, open spaces are nice & yes, Elings Park has a responsibility to it's neighbors.I don't think they're trying to just do what they want to, there's been a ton of planning & in the end the plans can be altered to accomodate nature.The 100 additional parking spaces, I don't see a use for that unless it happens to be a HUGE event like the Bike Fest on the 1st weekend of June. As for regular evenings @ the track for practice or a race day/evening, 100 parking spaces IS overkill. Even a state qualifier race won't bring that much traffic. Besides, I believe the overflow parking won't need to be a paved lot, they currently park all the vehicles on the mowed lawn when they have the Bike Fest.The 1300 sq.ft. office, that's 1 that can definately go by the wayside. There's already an office @ the north side, why 2?Again, there's lots of speculating on this matter, but it's folks like you that are actually filtering through the BS & seeing the flexibility in the plan, something that is truly refreshing :) henry

On an unfortunate side, they don't seem to be in the future plans for the park, but you know how plans go. It's a bummer if they're not a part of the park because Jeff Elings (the operator of the RC track) has been a wonderful contributor & caretaker of the area where the BMX & RC track are. I hope they make room for them, it's always a pleasure watching those little things zip around! :) henry

Henry stated above: "The 1 thing I noticed is that friends who dropped out of these sports developed drug problems, contributed to the teenage pregnancy problem, dropped out of school, got in trouble w/ the law, a whole slew of social issues ............ Will these sports save every kid? Hard to say, but I'd rather have kids doing these sports than joining a gang or becoming a meth dealer or making babies they can't take care of."

What Henry said is so very true. As a BMX Track Operator, I can not tell you how many young people, when they see me wearing a T-shirt with the track logo on it, have come up to me and said that they should have never quit BMX racing because they just ended up getting into trouble from to much free time on their hands.

Our youth today need action sports like BMX racing, that are outside the mainstream, as not every kid out there fits in the box of organized team sports. BMX racing is itself a life lesson. As an adult, when we falter, or get knocked down in life by sickness, loss of a job, divorce, or whatever else life throws at us, we have to get back up, dust ourselves off, and find it within ourselves to keep going. Trust me on this, BMX racing teaches kids that very lesson in a way that will stick with them forever, just ask my son, or any kid that races BMX.

Our youth today are faced with overwhelming temptations and dangers from peer pressure all the time. The positive adult role models at a BMX Track such as Henry give kids someone to identify with, admire, and emulate. Add to that, that a BMX Track is a family oriented atmosphere for young and old alike and then question begs to be asked. What more could the people of Santa Barbara want for a wise use of their public lands, than what a BMX facility has to offer them?